I continue to benefit from correspondence with someone with so much insight. Herewith please find, in whole, her response to “Another Thought on U.S. Aggression”.

Excellent deep dive. Add a visual graphic and you have the complete story. And, remember that Russia’s aggressive land grab includes rare earth minerals in Ukraine as well. It was the first point of negotiations… with the U..S. for a reason.

Why we were in Afghanistan: It sits on vast, largely untapped reserves of critical minerals, including deposits of rare earth elements… [estimated] to be worth trillions = why global powers seeking to diversify supply chains away from China.

Note: Indonesia is the next target — U.S. wants to ensure critical mineral cooperation excludes third parties (like China), but Indonesia resists, fearing limits on its independence and economic ties with Beijing. ¹

Just like Bond told you: the world is not enough. The new “space race” is with rare earth minerals, and it’s not with Russia — it’s with China.

Her remark about Afghanistan blew me away. The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to overthrow the Taliban and dismantle Al-Qaeda in response to 9/11. A 2021 article published by TechHQ suggested that the U.S. was aware by 2010 that Afghanistan “was sitting on mineral deposits worth… between $1 trillion and $3 trillion,” including the world’s largest reserves of lithium — which is not a rare mineral but, like rare earth minerals, requires advanced equipment and acumen to extract.²

Predictably, China immediately announced that it was ready to cooperate with the new Taliban regime on various infrastructure projects just hours after it resumed control of the country. A CNBC article heavily intimated China was there for the rare earth minerals. ³

Finally, re:Indonesia — In August, President Subianto announced the establishment of a new mineral industry agency to oversee the development of rare earths and radioactive minerals — characterized as important to national defense and its economy. ⁴

¹ She refers to an article published by Bloomberg titled “Indonesia Targets Concluding Tariff Deal with US by Year End.” I cannot read the article because the site is paywalled. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-12/indonesia-targets-concluding-tariff-deal-with-us-by-yearend

² Kaur, D., & Kaur, D. (2021 August 19). Is Afghanistan’s US$1 trillion of mineral deposits the key to the climate crisis? TechHQ. https://techhq.com/news/is-afghanistans-us1-trillion-of-mineral-deposits-the-key-to-the-climate-crisis/

³ Tan, W. (2021, August 17). China may align itself with Taliban and try to exploit Afghanistan’s rare earth metals, analyst warns. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/17/taliban-in-afghanistan-china-may-exploit-rare-earth-metals-analyst-says.html

⁴ Indonesia sets up new mineral industry agency to oversee rare earths development. (2025, August 25). Reuters. Retrieved December 14, 2025, from https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-sets-up-new-mineral-industry-agency-oversee-rare-earths-development-2025-08-25/